City of Sequim moves towards annexation of Flaura’s Acres

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 3, 2026

The City of Sequim is closer to annexing Flaura’s Acres, a 20.5-acre homeowners association south of East Washington Street, to help its homeowners connect to city utilities after state health officials deemed the HOA’s water and sewer systems at risk of failing.

Sequim city councilors agreed in a 6-0 vote on May 26 after a public hearing to declare the city’s intent to annex Flaura’s Acres from unincorporated Clallam County into city limits and connect to the city’s public water and sewer.

The city’s request for annexation will go to the Clallam County Boundary Review Board where it has 45 days to review the proposal, approximately by July 13.

City councilor Brandon Janisse recused himself from voting on the annexation because he serves on the county’s Boundary Review Board, and said it may not have a quorum if he participated in the city vote.

According to city staff, once the Boundary Review Board’s review period ends, the city council can adopt an ordinance to annex the properties, tentatively at their July 27 or Aug. 10 meeting.

Sequim must also submit an annexation certificate to the Washington State Office of Financial Management within 30 days of the effective date of the annexation ordinance so the annexed properties qualify for municipal taxation in the following year. This must be submitted by Aug. 31.

More about Flaura’s Acres

The Flaura’s Acres Homeowner’s Association has 55 single-family houses located along Blair Avenue, Belfield Avenue, and Still Street in a pocket of unincorporated Clallam County surrounded by Sequim city limits. They are within the Sequim Urban Growth Area (UGA).

City staff report the HOA’s original community well dates back to 1966, and a second well, now the primary source of drinking water, was constructed in 1994, but its water lines are undersized, it has no backup power during an outage, and the area has no fire hydrants due to inadequate water distribution.

They write in city documents that these issues create public health risks due to the necessity of reliability and safety of clean drinking water.

Flaura’s Acres’ community septic system dates back to when the development was created, and the State Department of Health deemed it at risk of failure, which would impact water quality of nearby Bell Creek, staff write.

“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” Paul Bucich, Sequim’s Public Works director, said in 2025 about the properties’ utilities.

As part of the annexation process, homeowners needed 60% (about $10.6 million) of the total property’s valuation to approve it, with more than 90% accepting it with their homes at a valuation of about $16.2 million.

The approximate $6 million project is financially backed with state grants and loans.

Those include:

• approximately $2.6 million through the Department of Ecology for sewer system installation with $1.9 million being a non-repayable grant, and about $662,000 in a 20-year loan at 07% interest to be paid by the Flaura’s Acres HOA via a Utility Local Improvement District that allows the homeowners to repay the city. City documents state that this agreement will tentatively be set in July.

• approximately $1.8 million grant from the Department of Health for water system installation.

• approximately $1.7 million through the Department of Commerce’s Community Development Block Grant for street improvements, such as curb, sidewalk and lighting improvements.

An Interlocal Agreement between Clallam County and the City of Sequim allows the Ecology funds to go from the county to the city.

According to city documents, work will occur under one contract managed by city staff with construction scheduled to start in July and finish in October for the HOA to connect to city water and sewer.

Resident Lisa-Ann Oliver was the lone resident from Flaura’s Acres to speak at the public hearing when she thanked city staff and said the project is a “win-win for everyone.”

Mayor Rachel Anderson shared a similar statement saying “it’s amazing to see when different organizations come together.”

City staff previously said that with Flaura’s Acres seeking annexation, utilities will be cheaper for city residents as non-residents must pay 50% more due to the current fee structure.

For more information about the project, visit the City of Sequim’s Fact Sheet page under “Flaura’s Acres Project” at sequimwa.gov/1022/Fact-Sheets.